L to R: NSC Deputy Head Ze'ev Tzuk-Ram, Lt. Col. Or Ohayon and Lt. Col. Amir Berger at the special s
Home Front reveals most threatened settlements list, calls for higher defense budget
A discussion in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee details how certain more-high-profile settlements in the West Bank are under higher risk of attack and urges the government to provide them with better security and prevent the next attack.
During a special meeting on Judea and Samaria on Monday, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee disclosed prioritizing its security budget allocated for defending settlements and its need for additional funding to provide them with the necessary defense measures.
Referring to an assessment made by the Central Command, the subcommittee stated that the settlements Elon Moreh in Samaria, Otniel in South Mount Hebron, Karmei Tzur in Judea and Neguhot in West Mount Hebron are considered the most threatened and are therefore in immediate need of defense measures.
The meeting was attended by several IDF and security officials, among them National Security Council Deputy Head Ze'ev Tzuk-Ram, Lt. Col. Or Ohayon and Lt. Col. Amir Berger. In a her report on the matter, Home Front Command Settlement Security Branch Head Lt. Col. Or Ohayon mentioned that “over the past year, the Security Ministry allotted us NIS 9 million to invest in technological measures, which is enough to cover (the needs of) three settlements. In 2016, we managed to increase this budget by 25%, which is good, but still not enough.”
The four settlements of Elon Moreh, Otniel, Karmei Tzur and Neguhot have been at the center of the past year’s wave of terrorism attacks.
During the meeting, representatives from security forces in Judea and Samaria detailed a severe lack of defense infrastructure in the area, stemming from a lack of funding. Karnei Shomron Regional Council Head Yigal Lahav said that “We have two neighborhoods in the council that are home to hundreds of families and children who are denied security, since there is no city planning strategy.” While acknowledging the need for organized planning, he called for providing the residents with immediate security, saying that putting forth a clear strategy concerning their safety can come later.
Gush Etzion Council Deputy Head Moshe Savile claimed that the settlements are barely surviving under the financial burden that comes with setting up private defense systems, saying that a closed-circuit system is currently being put together to provide Gush Etzion with a semblance of safety.
MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi), who headed the discussion, warned, “If the country doesn’t wake up and provide the minimal budget necessary for defense measures for border settlements in the north, south and Judea and Samaria, we could pay dearly, in blood. I call on the prime minister, finance minister and defense minister to allocate the necessary funds in the biyearly budget for the safety and upkeep of border settlements in general and particularly for those in Judea and Samaria.”